Friday, March 18, 2005

I went to the neighborhood history project's first meeting last night. A very nice group of people. The organizers gave us an overview of what they envisioned. Basically, the project will be collecting historical research on a wide variety of topics and conducting oral interviews with some of the older residents of the neighborhood. It sounds like there will be a few ending projects......a book that will give a neighborhood slice of life. A contributuon to the state historical society. Walking tours of the neighborhood. And maybe a website. They anticipate the project to take 2-3 years.

Fun, fun, fun. I hope to participate in both the research and the interviews. My work requires a lot of research, so I am pretty good and hunting down information. There are a few topics on their list that interest me.....streetcars, street paving & improvements. Looking into the small neighborhood grocery stores would also be interesting. I'd also love to look into "slice of life" topics like ice delivery and coal delivery. I still have the icebox door on my house and also the former coal burning furnace in my basement.....and I'd be so interested in hearing what life was like using both. We are also on the lookout for old pictures.

We have another meeting in a week. As I start my research, I'll post assigned my topics........and would love input and suggestions from blog readers :-)